Flame Control
by HowdeeCoyote
Summary: "She was a planet—beautiful and open, and Sasuke had been captured into her gravitational pull. What harm could a single asteroid do?" Travel. Blank Period. Oneshot. SasuSaku. Canon-compliant.


**Flame Control **

Streaks of shadowy clouds covered the sky, hiding silver moonbeams. It was surprisingly early in the evening for such darkness, but the birds bedded down without complaint. Sakura knew that the farther they traveled from Konoha, the more time was bound to shift. The Land of Earth was quite a ways away. Things were different in these parts.

Sasuke had just started the fire with an effortless jutsu. Nights were often cool, no matter where you were, and Sakura was thankful for the warmth. With slow movements, she carefully sat next to her partner on a fallen log—one she'd placed as a makeshift bench—and looked at the smoke as it danced above. The bark was rough on the back of her legs. She rubbed the irritation.

"Only a few more days, weather permitting." Sasuke surmised, mumbling just loud enough for Sakura to hear. He was tired, although his physical features remained alert. Sakura could see the slow blink of his eyelids as he stared ahead. She wasn't sure how long he'd been on the move, and doubted he'd gotten a good night's rest in a long while. He'd only been in Konoha a few hours before deciding to leave again.

But this time, he didn't travel alone.

"Thank you again, for bringing me with you. I haven't left the village since…_um_…in a long while." Sakura responded with reddened cheeks. It's not as though she'd given Sasuke much of a choice. He _did _say "_maybe next time_", and with a travel sack ready by the door of her home, Sakura made sure he heeded those words.

Taking a long swig of her travel canister, the kunoichi opted to keep her face hidden. Sasuke's eyes could read all—and the _sharingan/rinnegan _was the least of her worries. It didn't take his clan's doujutsu to see right through her.

Wood popped as the flames licked it hungrily. With luck only Sakura could manage, a stray chunk of bark sprang from the pile and singed her skin painfully. Cursing lightly, Sakura spilled her water as she reached for her burning knee just as Sasuke did. They both brushed away the offender successfully, leaving a smear of charcoal on her pale skin.

"That's so weird." Sakura began, mocking to hide her embarrassment. "Control your fire, Sasuke!"

"Ah," He responded and turned his gaze upon the crackling cinders. Sakura watched in awe as red flames bled black.

"Amaterasu?" She continued, not hiding her surprise in the least. It wasn't as though Sasuke was one for friendly banter, but still… "I was only joking. You don't have to be so serious, it's only me."

He tiled his head towards her and the flames died out, exercising his immaculate flame control. "_You_ are exactly why I can't let my guard down."

Proving his words, Sasuke finds himself confused as to why he'd admit such a thing aloud. He hadn't meant it in the way it sounded—Sakura had been _seared _by some random freak event. That's it. Yet, both he and Sakura freeze, wide-eyes meeting. Then, they look down at Sasuke's hand—still clasped around Sakura's knee.

He pulls from her, mouth open, a jaded look in his irises.

_Control _your _fire, Sakura. _

The air _whooshes _when he stands. It's another retreat, another rejection. Anytime their shoulders brushed together as they danced amongst treetops, Sasuke would glide farther ahead. Her smiles fell to the side of his face, which turned swiftly away. Conversations were made light.

It was all so…_annoying. _

"Wait," On her feet, Sakura calls to him before he can even make it to his bedroll.

Stiff shoulders hide behind a dark travel poncho. Black hair, long enough now to cover his neck completely, sways slightly in the nighttime breeze. Of course, Sasuke does not meet her face. Instead, he focuses on his mat with such intensity that he's sure it may catch fire, too. Catch fire, swallow him up whole, and let the wind carry his ashes.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Sakura says as she comes up behind him, mindful of distance…_always _mindful of distance. "Is there…something I've done to upset you?"

Being in Konoha was difficult for the last Uchiha—a title that had befallen him once again. Sakura could understand on an empathetic level. It must have been hard to return to a place you'd sworn to destroy, a village that your ancestors had shared footfalls upon. Sakura could even understand Sasuke's curt behavior with Kakashi, Naruto and herself, all things considered.

Friends, to enemies, to friends again, it was a head spinning circle. She didn't hate him for that—not of any of it. There was no reason for him to deny her friendliness. He deserved companionship, just like every other human that has been, or will ever be.

"No," Sasuke answers truthfully. Yet, his mind stills from there. What could he say? _It's not you, it's me? _How infantile.

This was a journey of redemption, not of sin. His teammate, his _friend, _didn't deserve to hurt, especially not under his hand. Yet, more and more, Sasuke finds himself falling into Sakura's proximity. She was a planet—beautiful and open, and Sasuke had been captured into her gravitational pull.

What harm could a single asteroid do?

_Extinction. Oblivion. Destruction. _

Steady fingers reach out and gather the material of his coat. Sakura turns him, locking onto his discordant eyes. They speak without words. It was something that belonged to them, only them.

_It's okay. We are safe. You're not a cursed man. You won't hurt me. I believe in you._

Sometimes, however, when conversation fails and thoughts remain silent, the only thing left is to act. Sliding slender arms around his midsection, the kunoichi draws him into her warmth and presses her cheek into his chest. The last time she's touched him, in this way, had been in their youth. Marks had spread across his skin and burrowed into his heart, tainting him with power. Her hugs, ever steady and ever pure, seem to pull him out of a trance.

"I'm sorry if this is difficult for you." She mumbles. "I don't know how else to tell you that everything is going to be okay."

The earnestness in her voice mingled well with the pitch-black air. With the fire out, and the embers smoldered down into nothing, only the moon watched their movements. Sasuke wrapped his arm around her with a slow hesitancy, thankful for the darkness, thankful for her pressure, _thankfulthankfulthankful_.

The scent of her hair still smelled like Konoha, like home. Before he knew it, he'd buried his face into her locks, and pulled her deeper against his sternum. Short in stature, dainty in physique, the woman pressed against him became an anchor as his world crumbled within. Sasuke had looked Gods in the face and felt less.

As it turns out, Sasuke didn't need to find his redemption out in the wilderness. Sakura had held it, all along.

"Are you okay now?" Sakura asks after a while. She'd held him long enough for the moon to change position in the sky. Knees buckling, grip loosening, Sakura was sure she'd have to use chakra to keep herself upright if they held any longer. Not that she wouldn't. There was nothing better than his warmth.

Sasuke sighed heavily and relaxed his grip from across her shoulders. "Ah,"

Looking up at the deep shadows of her partners face, Sakura watched his sleepy eyes blink. It had been a while since she'd seem him look so…human, so peaceful. Pride swelled in her chest, and the smile that bloomed forth was just a simple, heartfelt reaction.

Yet, in the moonlight, Sasuke didn't think he'd ever seen anything so stunning.

Sakura attuned well to Sasuke. Her tears on The Great Naruto Bridge were the first anyone had genuinely shed for the last Uchiha, since his family had died. The bruises that littered her face, when she fought of Orochimaru's men in the Forest of Death, had resulted in his protection. Blade against Gaara and his demon transformation, Sakura did not hesitate to put her life on the line. She healed his arm even though he'd hurt her with it—wrapped it around her neck—used his jutsu against their very best friend.

And _thank you _doesn't ever seem like it would be enough to portray just how much he appreciated her. _Thank you _doesn't even cover the surface.

Sakura feels the featherlike touch of his fingertips as he tucks a stray strand of pink behind her ear. His head dips lower, _lower, _and he closes the distance between them with a serene grace. Heart bounding, head dizzy, Sakura presses her lips against Sasuke's with that smile still curving her mouth.

He smelled like rain, or perhaps lightning—something electric and gentle all at once.

Again and again, over and over, slinking down into Sasuke's bedroll as the night became cooler and the fire had long died out, they kissed. It was for all of the years Sakura had loved him and all of the years Sasuke had appreciated her for doing so. It was for skipping out on adolescence, never having the opportunity to be young and experience chaste pecks and gentle touches. It was innocence. It was love.

As the birds awoke from their slumber and the sun began to break up the darkness of the sky, Sasuke finally fell asleep against Sakura, laying his head heavily against the curve of her neck.

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**A/N: Just a short oneshot while I'm working on a couple of things. I hope you all enjoy! Don't hesitate to check out my other stories and find me on tumblr, twitter, where ever. I am under the name HowdeeCoyote. Send me a message when you get there! Leave me reviews bc I thrive on encouragement.**


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